BE-FRIENDLY: A DIGITAL CLASSROOM PROGRAM TO INCREASE EMPATHY AND SELF-CONTROL AND REDUCE AGGRESSION

Children and adolescents may be exposed to complex social situations which can lead them to avoidance, anxiety and loneliness.With the aim of preventing boycotts and shaming phenomena and to strengthen children's self-confidence and sense of self-image, we developed an innovative classroom program that incorporates a digital interface for improving social and emotional skills among children and adolescents in the era of social media.During the sessions, challenging social scenarios are presented to the participants from different points of view through a digital interface.A chatbot prompts the children with questions about each scenario, encouraging them to reflect on their feelings and thoughts.The scenarios presented in the interface are used as a trigger for the discussion in the group.A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the program impact.45 children participated in the study, most of whom were boys (71%), aged 9 to 14 years.Study results were compared to outputs from the AI analyses of participants' responses which were assessed using narrative practices.Findings indicate a significant increase in children's self-reported empathy and self-control, as well as in parents' reports of their child's empathy.Additionally, there was a significant decrease in parent's report of child aggression.